Anti-Woke Strive Asset Management Launches Wealth Platform

One of the most notable so-called anti-woke companies is bringing its controversial convictions to the wealth management arena. 

Strive Asset Management said last week that it’s launching a new wealth management offering to customers, and announced $30 million in Series B funding led by Cantor Fitzgerald. Strive, which was co-founded by former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and has roughly $1.5 billion in assets under management, said it’s jumping into the advice business due to increased demand from clients. 

“Many Americans are hungry for an authentic and unapologetic embrace of capitalism, meritocracy, and innovation and that’s what we strive to deliver,” Strive CEO Matt Cole said in a release. 

Get the ESG Outta Here

The popular conservative adage “go woke, go broke,” refers to financial consequences for companies that engage with perceived liberal causes, like climate change prevention or diversity hiring programs. BlackRock, which represents more than $5 trillion in retirement funds, is often catching the ire of conservative lawmakers, who allege the firm prioritizes ESG concerns over investors’ best interests. 

Groups like Strive have emerged as alternatives:

• Strive launched in 2022 with backing from Peter Thiel, Bill Ackman, and current vice president hopeful JD Vance, billing itself as “unapologetically committed to shareholder primacy.”
• Strive cites studies to support its business model like one from the Journal of Accounting Research, whose finding suggests ESG-based investing may diminish returns, and firms that highlight their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives often do so to take focus away from poor financial performance.

Anti-woke(ish): You won’t find the phrases “anti-woke” or “anti-ESG” on Strive’s website because, well, it may not be. An analysis from Goods Unite Us, a group that aims to help consumers understand brands’ political ties, found the company’s funds are not too different from ones offered by BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street. In fact, many of the top corporate holdings in its Growth ETF overwhelmingly support Democratic politicians and PACs. 

The company did not respond to a request for comment.

Goods Unite Us argues Strive’s heavy conservative marketing is just a way to convince investors to agree to higher management fees, a tactic other left-leaning firms allegedly use as well. Strive’s 500 ETF follows essentially the same companies as the ones found on iShare’s Core S&P 500 ETF and Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF, but has a higher expense ratio. Perhaps counter to its messaging, when everybody was going left, Strive did too.